Parent Steps

The power of parenting is an incredible thing. I have seen many times over the disfunction of the family handed down to the children. I have had many a parent in my office wondering why their children act the way they do and I think to myself - they're just modeling the mess in your own life. Now, godly parenting isn't a guarantee of godly kids. Sometimes the best homes are devastated by a child gone bad. However, biblical parenting does increase the odds that the kids will follow in the steps of mom and dad.

I have been reading through the Kings lately. I've noticed how many times the text reads, "...and he followed in the steps of his father." Israel had a continual string, with a few exceptions, of an ungodly father producing an equally ungodly heir. On the other hand, Judah, with a few exceptions, had just the opposite; a father (king) who served the Lord and then a son doing the same.

I'm thankful each morning as I pray for my three girls that my prayers aren't for God to return them to Him, but instead for Him to keep them near. I'm ever mindful as I lead my home that I set a pattern for my kids to follow. Will anger be their model, or will quiet strength and peace be the norm? Will they see the bible as a prominent guide as mom and dad read, study and apply it, or will it be a dust-gathering old book that is dragged out on Sundays (when we can find it)?

A friend recently told me of her trip to the beach where she noticed her daughter trailing behind in the sand and attempting to walk in her steps. What a powerful analogy of the responsibility and authority we have in molding our little ones to follow after the Lord. Let it be ever in our thoughts that we are mostly likely to read of our own kids, "they followed in the steps of their parents."